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Ambassador Amir Al-Anbari
Iraq's new ambassador to the United Nations, Amir al-Anbari, didn't have to travel far to take up his duties in New York. At the time of his appointment he already was serving in Washington, DC as Iraqi Ambassador to the United States. A lawyer with degrees from the Universities of Baghdad (B.A.) and Harvard (M.A. and S.J.D.), he served as Iraq's Ambassador in London before transferring to Washington in 1987.
Ambassador Anbari spent much of his first year in the Us familiarizing himself with Washington. Then, when the August 1988 cease-fire halted eight years of warfare between Iraq and Iran, he was assigned to Iraq's delegation at the peace negotiations, and began shuttling between Washington and Geneva. When it became clear that formal negotiations might drag on for months or even years, the Iraqi diplomat was assigned to UN headquarters.
Ambassador Anbari was born in Babylon 54 years ago, into a family of prosperous merchants and traders. His inclination toward the law may have developed from observing his father, who was constantly called upon to arbitrate disputes. Anbari says admiringly that his...